The present invention relates to medical imaging of the brain, and more particularly, to automatic segmentation of sub-cortical and cortical brain structures in 3D magnetic resonance images.
Detection and delineation of sub-cortical and cortical brain structures in magnetic resonance (MR) data is an important problem in medical imaging analysis. For example, delineated sub-cortical and cortical brain structures can be used in detecting abnormal brain patterns, studying various brain diseases, and studying brain growth. Manual delineation of such sub-cortical and cortical brain structures in 3D MR data is a challenging task, ever for expert users, such as clinicians or neuroanatomists. Task-specific protocols for manual brain structure annotation exist, but the correct utilization of such protocols depends heavily on user experience. Moreover, even for experienced users, the manual delineation of a single brain structure is a time-consuming process, and manual annotations may vary significantly among experts as a result of individual experience and interpretation. Accordingly, a method for automatically segmenting sub-cortical and cortical brain structures in MR volumes is desirable.
Conventional techniques for segmenting sub-cortical and cortical brain structures cannot be used for purposes such as detecting abnormal brain patterns, studying brain diseases, and studying brain growth due to a lack of proper generalization. In particular, conventional methods may successfully perform segmentation of sub-cortical and cortical brain structures in MR data for healthy adult brains, but cannot reliably detect abnormal brain structures or brain structures in pediatric brains. The generalization of such conventional methods for the detection of abnormal brain structures is not trivial, and it has been necessary to develop specific methods that only work for specific cases. Accordingly, a method for sub-cortical and cortical brain structure segmentation that is robust enough to reliably segment abnormal brain structures and pediatric brain structures, as well as healthy adult brain structures is desirable.